NASA astronauts are currently driving a prototype rover around an Arizona desert to find out if it's ready for a lunar mission.
A team comprising people from NASA and its Japanese counterpart, JAXA, is currently in an Arizona desert carrying out tests of a rover and other technology that could one day be heading to the moon.
Current D-RATS members include NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Stan Love, along with their Japanese colleagues Aki Hoshide and Norishige Kanai. The astronauts’ “day in the life” desert missions will run through October 22 and include thorough testing of JAXA’s pressurized rover. The astronauts will live and work inside the vehicle for 72 hours at a time so that engineers can determine if it’s able to safely handle the demanding lunar conditions.
The tests will help engineers to discover ways to design, build, and operate better equipment, as well as establish requirements for operations and procedures essential to any crewed lunar mission.
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